Lover of nature, the arts, and New York City. Change agent. Traveling light with a little dog. Free Spirit.

Jun 28, 2017

So Many Life Hacks

I always go back to the basics.

Constantly bombarded online with better ways to do things. Life hacks.

I have tried many…over and over again. I developed great skill at implementing novel and clever ways to get more done in less time. Productivity via life hacks. A human machine doing more things faster with superior productivity.

But why? Seems I get more stressed out the more I try to hack the hell out of life.

Yes, too many of those tricky life hacks don’t help me feel better. In fact, I generally feel worse the more hacks I try to implement. Tired, anxious, too busy to greet or commune with others in a friendly and authentic way, constant thought about what else to do to “run faster and jump higher,” never-ending competitive mindset that fears being left behind or judged as inadequate, and so on.

Then, there was an “ah-ha” moment in time when out of sheer desperation to feel good again, I let go of most of the tricky life hacks and sat still. For almost two weeks, I wandered through each day in what felt like a state of irresponsible inactivity. In hindsight, it was actually a kind of healing meditation.

The stillness. The contemplation. The openness.

The message?

Simple. Go back to the basics. My basics. My tried and true personal practices learned over the decades that support peace, health, clarity. Simple things like adequate sleep at night, consumption of unprocessed food, exercise that includes stretching and dancing (my favorites), quiet time, deep breaths, authentic action and speech, practice of unconditional love for myself and all living things, daily social connection.

I may have to repeat this cycle a few more times before I drop the need to hack so much out of every day.